and elegy bt activists here todayfromchinaandtaiwan. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] i look forward to spend time with them. we went through a lot of pizzas, and i have to tell you, i am so inspired by your vision and your creativity and your drive. they are the founders of the lgb t movement in china and taiwan, and we welcome you. [applause] again and again we show up for each other, add new people to our family and unfortunately at times this members of our family. we have had an unusual number of deaths this year. our staff and board members lost parents, grandparents, a key task force volunteers and tragically a child. and we lost a dear friend and co-worker in san the green who, as many of you know, was an extraordinary woman who worked for the task force for a decade and greeted people at creating change at the registration desk every year. sandy, sandy was not afraid to say there was a black straight woman and was part of a family working for civil rights for all [applause] iso wish -- i so wished she could have seen the president's speech. she would have loved it. b